Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 11: Actress Tina Louise (``Gilligan's Island'') is 91. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame track and field athlete Abby Hoffman is 78. Derek Shulman, of the British progressive rock group Gentle Giant, is 78.

Today in History for Feb. 11: In 1765, London wig-makers, dismayed that fewer men were wearing wigs, asked King George III to buy their products to spur sales. He declined.

Today in Music History for Feb. 11: In 1881, mezzo-soprano and actress Rosita del Vecchio, known as the Sarah Bernhardt of Canada, died of bronchial pneumonia at the age of 34.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 10: Opera singer Leontyne Price is 98. Actor Robert Wagner is 95. Singer Roberta Flack is 88. Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson is 86. Singer Jimmy Merchant of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers is 85.

Today in History for Feb. 10: In 3641 BC, according to the calculations of the Mayans, the world was created. In AD 60 (traditional date), the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked at Malta.

Today in Music History for Feb. 10: In 1939, singer Roberta Flack was born in Asheville, N.C. She had a half-dozen ballad hits in the 1970s, including three No.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 9: Actress Janet Suzman is 86. Pop songwriter Barry Mann is 86. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 85. Drummer Brian Bennett (The Shadows) is 85.

Today in Music History for Feb. 9: In 1891, the Canadian Pacific Railway opened its Vancouver Opera House with a performance by the Emma Juch English Opera company, a touring company from the U.S.

Today in History for Feb. 9: In 249, legends say the woman who later became St. Appolonia, the patron saint of dentistry, was tortured and killed for being a Christian.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 8: Composer-conductor John Williams is 93. News anchor Ted Koppel is 85. Actor Nick Nolte is 84. Folk singer and songwriter Tom Rush is 84. Comedian Robert Klein is 83.